I second Tzoya's remarks. Well-known problem in the profession.This has ALWAYS been the truth. Nothing new here expect that a light is being shone on the problem. Thanks for posting.
ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RESEARCH PROTECTION (AHRP)
Promoting Openness, Full Disclosure, and Accountability
http://www.ahrp. org <http://www.ahrp. org/> and
http://ahrp. blogspot. com
<http://ahrp. blogspot. com/>
FYI
The New York Times reports (below) that Sen. Charles Grassley is
calling for
federally mandated registry disclosing the amounts of money
pharmaceutical
companies dole out to physicians because those financial incentives
(bribes)
influence doctors' prescribing pattern. Doctors with academic
affiliations
receive the most money because their influence on the profession is
valuable
to industry. [1]
Sen. Grassley cited the example of child psychiatrist, Dr. Melissa
DelBello,
an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, whose
company-sponsored tests of the antipsychotic, Seroquel, in children,
have
helped to fuel the widespread pediatric use of antipsychotic
medicines. The
Times reports that although those clinical trials (sponsored by
AstraZeneca)
were inconclusive, she has described them as demonstrating that
Seroquel is
effective in some children.
Sen. Grassley disclosed that Dr. DelBello's university disclosure
forms show
she received 0,000 from AstraZeneca in 2003 and ,000 in 2004.
However,
such university records are rarely complete--they contain what
physicians
chose to disclose. The Times reports that Dr. DelBello consults for
seven
other drug makers as well.
Dr. Melissa P. DelBello, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
and
Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and
Associate
Director of the Bipolar and Psychotic Disorders Research Program.
She is
also the Co director of the Mood Disorders Clinic at Cincinnati
Children's
Hospital Medical Center.
It is not an overstatement to say that American child psychiatrists
at the
nation's leading academic medical centers pose a grave and present
danger to
the health and wellbeing of America's children. They, more than
industry
itself, are responsible for misusing their medical license to
prescribe
toxic drugs that are undermining children's physical and mental
health.
Children are exposed to antipsychotic drugs that induce weight gain
of 100
lbs, cardiovascular, hormonal and metabolic disease--including
insulin-resistant diabetes--and sudden death.
Pediatric data analysis confirm that "children and adolescents
appear to be
at higher
risk than adults for antipsychotic induced hyperprolactinemia,
weight gain,
and possibly,
associated metabolic abnormalities, which is of particular concern."
[2]
Indeed, these drugs damage the central nervous system, the endocrine
system
triggering hyperglycemia and diabetes in some cases.
These drugs diminish the quality of these children's lives, possibly
forever. Black Box labels warn about strokes and cardiac arrest in
the
elderly. There is no evidence that the drugs do not pose the same
risk of
strokes and cardiac arrest in children--as they have not been tested
long
enough.
A New York Times analysis of the Minnesota disclosure documents
clearly
shows that psychiatrists are the most compromised industry-
influenced group
among medical professionals. Thus, psychiatry's diagnostic and
therapeutic
guidelines are no more credible than industry's advertisements- -the
goal of
both is governed by commercial considerations, not therapeutic.
See:
1. Carlson FA, Jensen PS, Findling RS, Meyer RE, Calabrese J,
DelBello MP,
Emslie G, Flynn L,
Goodwin F, Hellander M, Kowatch R, Kusumakar V, Laughren T,
Leibenluft E,
McCracken J,
Nottelmann E, Pine D, Sachs G, Shaffer D, Simar R, Strober M, Weller
EB,
Wozniak J, MD, and
Youngstrom EA. Methodological Issues and Controversies in Clinical
Trials
with Child and Adolescent
Patients with Bipolar Disorder: Report of a Consensus Conference. J
Child
Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 2003; 13 (1): 13-27.
2. Correll C and Carlson HE. Endocrine and Metabolic Adverse Effects
of
Psychotropic Medications in
Children and Adolescents, J.Am Acad Child Adolesc.Psychiatry,
2006;45:771- 791.
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
212-595-8974
veracare@ahrp. org <mailto:veracare@ahrp. org>
<http://topics. nytimes.com/ top/reference/ timestopics/ people/h/ gardine
r_harri
s/index.html
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Lawmaker Calls for Registry of Drug Firms Paying Doctors
By GARDINER HARRIS
August 4, 2007
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 - An influential Republican senator says he will
propose
legislation requiring drug makers to disclose the payments they make
to
doctors for services like consulting, lectures and attendance at
seminars.
The lawmaker, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on
the
Senate Finance Committee, cited as an example the case of a
prominent child
psychiatrist, who he said made 0,000 over just two years from the
maker
of an antipsychotic drug now widely prescribed for children.
Mr. Grassley is one of several lawmakers to propose a federal
registry of
such payments. Minnesota, Vermont and Maine already have similar
registries,
and other states are considering them.
The proposals are a response to growing concerns that payments from
drug
makers can affect doctors' prescribing habits, increase the cost of
health
care and, in some cases, endanger patients' health.
The drug industry opposes such registries, saying they would
discourage
doctors from receiving needed education. John Bentivoglio, a lawyer
in
Washington who represents drug makers, said the registries would be
a burden
for the companies and might be misinterpreted.
"One of the concerns is that these payments are seen as bribes," Mr.
Bentivoglio said. "That's not the case. The vast majority are lawful
payments for services."
In a speech on the Senate floor on Thursday, Mr. Grassley said he had
started an investigation into these practices. Noting that most
universities
require academic researchers to disclose such payments, he said, "I
have
sent letters to a handful of universities to understand how well
such a
reporting system actually works."
These letters have uncovered several problems, Mr. Grassley said.
First,
universities do not verify the information filed by their
professors, so
"the only person who knows if the reported income is accurate and
complete
is the doctor who is receiving the money."
Also, the universities generally keep this information secret from
patients,
who have no way of knowing whether their doctor is on a drug maker's
payroll, he said.
"So if there is a doctor getting thousands of dollars from a drug
company -
payments that might be affecting his or her objectivity - the only
people
outside the pharmaceutical industry who will probably ever know
about this
are the people at that very university," he said.
Mr. Grassley said that he had asked how much the child psychiatrist,
Dr.
Melissa DelBello at the University of Cincinnati, made from
AstraZeneca, the
London-based drug giant that manufactures the antipsychotic Seroquel.
Dr. DelBello's studies of Seroquel in children have helped to fuel
the
widespread pediatric use of antipsychotic medicines. Those studies
were
inconclusive, but she has described them as demonstrating that
Seroquel is
effective in some children.
Asked in a past newspaper interview how much she was paid by
AstraZeneca to
help market Seroquel, she had said, "Trust me, I don't make very
much." Mr.
Grassley said this week that her disclosure forms at the University
of
Cincinnati show she received 0,000 from AstraZeneca in 2003 and
,000
in 2004. Dr. DelBello consults for seven other drug makers as well.
She did
not respond to requests for comment this week.
Richard Puff, a university spokesman, said he did not know how much
Dr.
DelBello made in combined payments from all eight drug makers. Asked
if the
institution did anything to verify its professors' financial
disclosures, he
replied, "We do trust our faculty when they're making these
disclosures. "
Mr. Grassley said he would propose that drug makers make public any
payments
made to doctors who bill the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs,
which
would include nearly all doctors.
Noting that voters can easily look up the contributions made to
elected
officials, he asked, "Shouldn't we hold doctors to similar
standards?"
Copyright 2007
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